The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
First rapid train to be namednamo bharat
ON THE eve of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Mo dion Friday, India’ s first regional rapid train, between delhi and Meerut, was on Thursday named “Namo Bharat”.
While announcing the launch, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday had said the PM would inaugurate the priority sectionof thedelhi-ghaziabadMeerut Regional Rapid Transit System(rrts) corridorandflag off the“Rapidx train” connecting sahib a bad and duh aide pot.
On Thursday, however, government sources said the train was likely to be renamed“na mo Bharat”.
Confirming the development, Union housing and urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a post on X: “Inauguration of the country’s first Regional Rapid Train #Namobharat between Sahibabad& Duhaidepotbypm Sh @narendramodi Ji on 20 October 2023 will mark the beginning of a new era of state-ofthe-art ultra modern urban commute in the country.”
Later, the Ministry of Housing and urban affairs’ official handle on X said :“India’ s first Regional Rapid train “#Namobharat” Train is indigenous ly manufactured with a designed speed potential of 180 km ph and an operational speed potential of 160 kmph.”
The 17- km priority section of the 82-km-long first corridor of RRTS would begin operations for passengers from Saturday at its five stations — Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and
Duhai Depot. The trains would be operational from 6 am to 11 pm. To start with, the frequency of the trains would be 15 minutes and can be increased to every five minutes, as per the PMO statement.
“The Delhi-ghaziabadMe e ru tr rt sis being developed at a cost of more than Rs 30,000 crore, and will connect Delhi to Meerut in less than an hour of travel time going through the urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar, and Modinagar,” the PMO said.